


Verde and Advice

by DCJoKeRHS



Series: Arcobaleno Mayhem [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Everyone Else Likes Teezing Him About It, Gen, He Just Never Admits It, I Don't Even Know, I'll Die, Please Don't Tell Him It Was My Idea, Tags May Change, Transgender Skull, Turns out there is Some plot, Verde is the Best Psychiatrist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-15 16:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14793674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DCJoKeRHS/pseuds/DCJoKeRHS
Summary: Verde is the calmest and most put together of the Arcobaleno, despite being a crazed Scientist.This results in quite conclusive advice.Which kinda ends up with Verde as their Psychiatrist.(Though saying it to his face has... Variable results.)





	1. Noticed

Lal lets out a groan as she arrives back from her latest hit, bruised and with the smell of burnt hair wafting about.

She collapses on the couch, ankles over the left armrest and face pillowed by her arms.

"Get out, you're intoxicating the air with the stench of carbonated keratin," Verde states, in the middle of one of his experiments on the living room table.

"I'm going to kill Skull for the stupid suggestion he gave me," Lal grumbles, not moving.

"It's the Lackey; never take any of his advice unless you want to lose a limb," Verde replies.

"I know, but it was either his suggestion or Collonello's, which he'd centered around our companions as decoys," Lal replies, leaning up onto his elbows.

"Skull's cloud flames mean he's able to regrow any lost limbs, so his plans will go without a fault for him alone. However, Collonello thinks of looking after the team, which means taking advantage of any peculiarities and such within that. Therefore, you should have taken both their ideas and used your own target-focused logic to create a plan that would have left all three of you happy with the outcome," Verde replies, lifting up the small machine he was working on.

Lal blinks, surprised.

"I have an idea you'll want to stop Collonello beating up Skull now," Verde sighs, looking directly at her.

"...Why?"she asks.

Verde snorts, his usual smirk appearing with his silent humour.

"Because that blonde idiot's _clearly_ got a crush on you," Verde says breezily, opening a compartment in the machine beside him, inserting the object he'd just made inside with careful precision.

Lal raises a brow, standing.

"...Thanks."

"Hn," Verde says, as his flames light, shocking his creation to life, as it rotates its upper body, before charging from the room.

Lal follows after it, surprised when it heads right for where Collonello is using their Lackey as target practise...

* * *

 

"Why are you here?" Verde asks.

Reborn chuckles, flopped on his back on the couch in Verde's lab, hat over his upper face and right arm acting as a head rest, left petting Leon.

"You stole the comfiest couch from Checkerface's," Reborn replies, smirking.

"No, I took the second-comfiest because you were using it as a bed at the time and I have self-preservation instincts like everyone else."

Reborn smirks.

"I decided I like this one."

"That's because you believe you can successfully rile me up through it, like with Skull and the bikes he likes collecting, then _you_ purposefully scratch or damage so Skull has to come to _me_ for them to be mended when even _he_ can't deal with it."

Reborn tilts his hat to look at Verde with interest.

"How do you know that?"

"The fact Skull comes in bawling or gets kicked through the door by Viper after pissing them off."

Reborn snorts.

"Not that it means you mend them."

Verde glances over as he grabs a bottle from under his desk.

"Here."

Reborn takes the bottle, sniffing it."

"Why are you giving me whiskey?"

"Because I know of everyone, Skull's the one who found out something highly important before you."

Reborn raises both his eyebrows.

"Seriously?! What?"

"Each of our weaknesses; though he's not used yours yet 'cause he knows that after he'll end up as pate."

" _Shit_ ," Reborn curses, as he takes a gulp of the whiskey.

What Reborn doesn't know, is there's a seeping draught mixed into the whiskey.

So he'll be less likely to kill their Cloud later - probably just maim him, instead.

(Everyone is too predictable for Verde, this is why he prefers his machines...)


	2. Skull Knows Weaknesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, character development!  
> Somehow, Skull and Verde have managed to jump up the list of Who I Like Most, like the twin Princes did in TSotS,SotS...  
> (I wonder what mayhem this will mean....  
> TTwTT I've a feeling this is also going to result in Canon Divergence.  
> Or, at the very least; scenarios that //could// slide into canon, but turn out very... OOC?  
> Ah well, ENJOY! XD

Verde was woken by Colonnello, the blond military man kicking the door down as Falco gives a loud squawk, landing on the back of the couch Verde had been sleeping on.

Keiman, of course, mirrored Verde's actions in not taking kindly to the intrusion, snapping at the bird of prey's tail feathers, forcing it to retreat as Keiman gets off the wall to chase them out, only for Verde to scratch the back of the alligator's neck, assuring him of their safety.

"What are you doing here?" Verde states, sitting up, "If you couldn't tell, I was sleeping after 38 hours of non-stop work."

"Why does Skull know our weaknesses?!" Colonnello demands.

"He's a Cloud, who decided we were part of his territory," Verde replies, "It's his duty to know."

"But he's our _lackey_! He falls over his feet more times than he's taken his helmet off!" Colonnello scoffs, flopping down to sit cross-legged by the exit, which led out to the basement of the house their "employer" had so kindly provided for them.

"That's part of his mask, his ruse, if you will," Verde smirks, though the smile drops at the thought of their kohai, "By sacrificing part of his actual personality, he can create a seamless mask, like the one he's always wearing physically, though it's a lot harder to remove, as that is his main guard for him."

"Eh? Why would he do that?" Colonnello asks.

Verde raises a disgruntled brow, Colonnello letting out a huff of air as he sees the reason.

"Fine, but we do it because we don't want him acting so weak all the time! It's annoying!"

"You've still not found out who stole Reborn's Antique Whiskey yet."

Colonnello opens his mouth with a roll of his eyes...

...Before pausing.

"There were 265 traps on that thing?! Even Leon had added a few in! You're saying-!?..."

"Check under his bed, it's where I found my Rubik's cube," Verde smirks, "Best go for a time he's out, though; Keiman went to grab my cube the second time he took it and came back bathed and dressed up in pink."

Keiman lets out a loud snarl of agreement, as Colonnello pets Falco.

There was silence for a moment.

"He's also got Lal's favourite necklace, Luce's engagement ring, Viper's lucky Roman Coin, your favourite pistol and Fon's pipa."

"Holy-" Colonnello starts, "That just sounds _creepy_!"

"He returns them when we need them; he's secretly  mother hen, under all the make-up and his holier-than-thou attitude, given he don't want to be called out for being very feminine."

"Yet he can easily change his make up and wear a kimono to appeal to my sense of protectiveness..." Colonnello grumbles.

"He knows you like cute things and Fon likes elegant things. He also knows Reborn can't resist things that are mysterious and sexy. Luce likes anything and everything, whilst Lal likes mature and graceful things."

"What about you and Viper?"

"Viper funds my silence, I also would rather not say my own weakness. It's annoying and I'm glad that only Skull knows."

Colonnello nods, frowning.

"Why are you saying Reborn's with so little care, then?"

"Because he's followed you and is equally annoyed about being woken at six in the morning."

Reborn appears, one of his spare guns in his hand as Leon's asleep on the brim on his hat.

"Is that thing about Skull true?" he demands.

Verde raises a brow, smirking.

"Are you curious about that small detail?" Verde hums, "It's true, I only know because Skull drops his guard when he thinks we're not looking. I'd also say his collection acts as a reassurance for him, because each of our favourite objects contain our flames with their own small resonance. They also say a lot about us; I like my logic, you like your traditions, Colonnello likes his guns, as Viper values their money, Luce values family and Lal values her past."

"Wow," Colonnello remarks, "You can get that from stuff?!"

Reborn kicks Colonnello in the back.

"Get up; you're an adult, not a kid, even if you are a brat."

Colonnello scoffs, yet gets to his feet anyway.

"I'm getting my stuff back," Reborn states.

"Good luck with that!" Verde replies, as he gets up, heading to one of his desks...

 

What both did't know, as they leave, is Verde has hacked all the "security cameras" hidden around the building, so he gets to watch the two's advancement.

Of course, they get upstairs.

They look around, and manage to find Skull's room empty...

 _Or so they thought_.

Verde pulls out a bottle of scotch, filling a glass and raising it to the screen.

"I warned you," he smiles, as the door to Skull's room slams closed, the pair spinning round as Reborn raises his gun, only for it to be snatched aside by Oodako, who's happily sitting in his miniature form to a side, nestled in a bed of towels at the bottom of his tank.

Skull was standing behind his door, helmet resting on the top of the dresser that also supported Oodako's indoor tank, the teen's head bowed as the youngest of their group manages to do another thing the rest hadn't done.

He scared the _shit_ out of both Colonnello and Reborn with his aura alone, both adult men stiffening.

Verde sees Skull's lips move, as Colonnello dives for his gun, Skull _attacking_ as he yanks Colonnello by his leg, deflecting Reborn's own attack, as Verde can see him grinning, Cloud flames crackling.

"Rest in pieces; that's his Hoard," Verde hums, as both are quickly knocked unconscious, Skull pausing, before looking at the camera.

Verde pauses in sipping his scotch, as Skull tilts his head with a smile, waving.

The screen only _just_ avoids being covered in scotch as Verde snorts out his scotch again, laughing as he watches both adults being given a similar treatment to Keiman, though whilst Colonnello gets dressed in a maid outfit, (cotton, by the way the fabric moved; single layers.) Reborn gets dressed in a nurse outfit that has Verde raising a brow, though Leon seems happy enough to just sit on his unconscious, now clean, master's shoulder.

"I believe I'll be getting a visit later..." Verde hums, as Keiman's rolling about like a puppy in his own version of laughter, Verde pouring himself a second lot as he decides that now's the time to get _hammered_...


	3. Skull Visits

As predicted, Skull appears a short while later.

Not that Verde had expected him to bring Reborn along, having left Colonnello outside of Lal's door, tied up with a "for Lal" note stuck to his forehead.

"Did you put them up to this?" Skull pouts, dragging Reborn by his ankle.

"No, Reborn just overheard me warning Colonnello away and decided to force his way through like he usually likes trying to," Verde says, recoiling slightly as Reborn's propped up by the door, "Why are you bringing _him_ here?! I just got rid of him!"

Skull snorts.

"Because I'll be damned if I don't see the way you two interact. Embarrassing situations result in the best things."

Verde pauses at the sentence, before sighing.

"That phrase is going to bite you in the butt some day," Verde sighs.

"It's true, though!" Skull pouts, crossing his arms, "This is why I like my masks..."

"Skull, that's unhealthy, stop it," Verde states, "You'll lose yourself if you do that."

Skull gives Verde a deadpan look.

"You stop playing Uncle and I'll stop playing Brat, alright?"

Verde snorts.

"Skull, do you really think you'll be respected for having so many masks? You'll end up being seen worse than Reborn."

Skull fiddles with his fingers.

"I just don't want people picking on me for being trans. I mean, I can't even kill the kids of my enemies 'cause they've got so much of their own lives left. I'd rather take them under my wings and give them all my feathers before even attempting to kill them..." Skull mutters.

"What if they try killing you?"

Skull _snorts_.

"I'm stuck in the body of a nineteen year old because my Will is strong enough to stop me from dying or growing, I've even been shot in the head with a storm-laced bullet, but _lucky_ _me_ , I lived, only remembering that their flames tasted like cranberries and their blood smelt like copper coins," Skull states, "You've run the tests, _I can't die_."

Verde sighs.

 

Let's backtrack  a bit.

 

When Verde and Skull had first met, it was just before Checkerface had found them.

Or more, just as Checkerface was finding them.

The Lightning had kidnapped the Cloud, wanting to experiment on the Cloud for his abilities, wishing to see what had caused the flame user to make them affect himself more internally than externally.

Of course, since they'd both gotten quite a bit bloody and Verde is kind of a germaphobe, (it ruins his clean lab!) Verde had had a shower, then bathed Skull.

It was more awkward when he registers the ace bandages (how stupid could this brat get?!) and type of underwear Skull had on.

So, when Skull woke up, cleanly clad in a hospital gown, wrapped up and with their chest held in an actual binder and without his piercings, he had looked at himself in shock, before screaming.

Of course, Verde told him to shut up with a "I'm not a perv, idiot! I'm a Scientist!" and Skull had done just that.

"Where am I?" Skull had demanded.

"My lab, in the hospital wing, given I can't have my experiment subjects damaged," Verde had replied, sitting crossed leg in his seat, a clipboard in his hand as he writes a shorthand version of their conversation.

Of course, this was mostly for show and not really reference; Verde _does_ have a eidetic memory, after all.

Skull had done the typical "Experiment?! Are you going to cut me up, or something?!" phrases, including the "No! Mama! Mama!" one... (Of course, that had Verde wincing, before hitting Skull with the clipboard.)

Finally, after listening and memorizing everything the teen (was he still a teen at that time?) had said, Verde had stated, "Ace bandages damage you more than help you. Invest more money in binders and the like; or just get top surgery somewhere."

Skull had gawked at Verde.

Then, he'd removed his mask.

"Che, usually people leave me to scream and cry by this point," Skull had scoffed.

"I'm not most people," Verde had replied.

Then. Skull had actually _agreed_ to the experiments.

"I can't get top surgery, or even the 'switch surgery, 'cause my flames just grow the lost bits back and the dick I get just eventually falls off as my cloud flames treat it like it doesn't exist."

Verde had nodded.

"Still, binders."

"Binders," Skull had eventually agreed.

Then Checkerface had appeared, offering Skull a way to deal with his flames and Verde a close look at something beyond the boarders of the usual boarders of science.

Both had accepted on the spot, being told where to head...

 

Which leads us back to now.

 

"You're not my doctor," Skull states.

"No, I'm a Scientist with an amazing knowledge of biology, psychology, brain synapses and so on, who, from that, with my photographic memory, means I also know a million and one ways that everyone can live, die, or be destroyed though mere words alone."

"I'm wearing binders as a tradition, now," Skull snaps.

Verde smirks.

"That's called repetitive suggestion; by telling you it so many times, I've made you take it on as your own idea."

Skull rolls his eyes, smirking.

"Whelp, Reborn will be waking up in about two minutes, I'm making myself scarce before Lal gets angry in one."

"I hear from Viper's cackling that the roof is the safest area for that," Verde states.

"No, that's where they'll look fast; somewhere like under Reborn's bed is where they'll look last."

Verde raises a brow amused.

"Have fun with that," he hums, returning to his work, as Keiman is happily playing with Leon...

 

Reborn awakes with a groan, merely raising a brow at the outfit.

"It appears Skull's timing is spot on," Verde hums.

Reborn had replied with a groan, standing with very little trouble.

"I also advise you to get some pants on and not go near Skull's room again... Unless you think you can actually get your whiskey back this time."

Reborn is silent for a moment.

"How long have you known how much he's been throwing this all away?"

Verde shrugs.

"I kidnapped him to experiment on before Checkerface came along... a month longer than the rest of you? Skull's surprisingly polite when he thinks he'll finally be able to die."

Reborn's head whips round, before looking ahead once more, returning to his thoughts.

Verde can practically _feel_ that god damned smirk Reborn gets when he's got an idea.

"Then I'll just have to train that mask-thing out of him."

"Good luck with that," Verde states, as Reborn approaches him, pausing behind him.

For a moment, Verde speculates that myth about Reborn being able to smell the emotions of others, 'caues _holy fuck_ Reborn in a sexy maid outfit that showed offf his perfectly-defined muscles and high-maintenance body was fucking _torture_ on verde's analytical mind...

Or so Verde tells himself.

Reborn leans over the back of Verde's chair, breath ghosting over Verde's ear.

"You should have the screw-point two millimetres higher than that."

"It's for the pressure exuded on the inner mechanics," Verde snaps.

"Well, maybe you should tell me all you know about my new favourite target."

"Maybe you should tell Leon that Keiman isn't a free form of transport."

Reborn turns, as Verde's eyes flicker to the mirror that shows the area behind him, from the curve of Reborn's neck to the large reptilian bouncing about the lab with Leon happily riding on his head.

"...Idiot Scientist."

"Stickly Hitman."

Reborn smoothly stands, as he gives an annoyed ~~pout~~ frown.

"You should be more sassy more often."

"I'd rather not lose braincells in the sake of one of your kinks, Reborn."

"Che."

Reborn leaves, collecting Leon on his way, as Verde returns to his work.


	4. Viper's Pissed

Verde raises a brow when Lal and Viper interrupt his snack time, Lal now in a cheerleader's outfit, hair in pigtails, as Viper's lost their cloak, dressed in a dark lolita outfit that reaches their knees, black cat thigh-high socks underneath.

"How much for all the information you have on Skull?" Viper states.

"Nothing, Client Confidentiality. I _did_ take the hypocratic oath."

Lal splutters.

" _When?!_ "

"After Reborn tried threatening me the same way you two will attempt to," Verde replies, "About a week ago. I passed all the tests before then with flying colours."

" _Fucking-_ " Lal curses, as Viper takes a slow breath.

"Who's rooms did you end up outside? Woman's intuition is pretty strong in that idiot," Verde hums.

Both stop in surprise at that.

" _Woman's_ intuition?"

"Even men can have that; I have a Doctor's intuition, apparently," Verde hums, "Though Reborn has a Spartan Tutor's."

"...I got Fon, Lal got Colonnello," Viper grumbles.

Verde smirks.

"OK, I take back that thing about intuition; you four are so _obvious_ , especially Fon."

"And what does _that_ mean?" Lal snaps.

Verde merely shakes his head, finishing his snack.

"Skull is Skull, though if you could join in Reborn and I's efforts with getting Skull to be himself instead of a Brat, that would be _brilliant_."

Verde leaves quickly, before he can be chased after...

 

...Only to find Checkerface in his lab.

"What you are doing; stop it, now," Checkerface states.

"Which thing? I have several," Verde replies smoothly, heading back to his desk.

"You know Skull will never be able to age or die, stop trying to take their masks away, now. That portal is also useless, as I can just drag you back."

"Why? It will benefit you in terms of manpower and benefit Skull in terms of... Well, _everything_... And what makes you so confident on that?"

"Perhaps you haven't thought of what that means should the poor fool be forced to face the sheer amount of people that means he'll have to watch _die_. At least with something akin to Borderline Personality Disorder he can escape from it."

Verde _turns_ on the blond man, fury obvious.

"That may be, but at least he can then have _himself_ to rely on! At least then he doesn't get lost inside himself like he will end up doing at this rate!" Verde snaps.

"Still," Checkerface reaches out a hand, digging it into the frame of the machine Verde had almost completed.

Sparks fly and the entire thing shuts down as Checkerface tears a chunk out by sheer strength alone.

Verde's eyes widen.

"S-stop! That's my leading experiment! I _need_ that!" he snaps.

"It's still an escape route I don't want you seven to have access to."

"You're up to something! You wouldn't just send seven people of different elements on different missions beyond the idea of _team building_ , especially the world's strongest! Luce is _pregnant_ for god's sake!"

Checkerface _chuckles_.

"It's something that has passed through her line for _decades_ , she knows everything about it. She even helped me find out about you all."

Verde bunches his hands into fists.

"What do you _mean_? She's as clueless as the rest of us, I'd _know_ if she was lying!"

"Oops? Did I say that?" Checkerface hums, a twisted grin appearing on his face, as he _looms_ over Verde.

" _It appears I'll have to fix that..._ "

 

Skull is the first on his feet as there's the feeling of silent, panicked flames racing across their base.

Reborn's not far behind him with the others, as they descend to Verde's lab...

...To find Verde wounded, the large machine that had once stood proudly at the heart of the room now in tatters around the scientist.

"Shit!" Skull curses, rushing forwards and flipping Verde over to see the bruising on his face, glasses gone.

From a corner, Keiman gives an enraged _snarl_.

Leon translates, as Reborn lets out a growl of his own.

"What the _fuck_?"

"Reborn, use your flames whilst I stop the bleeding from causing death, or you're going to find your alcohol cabinet empty for the rest of our stay," Skull snaps.

Reborn turns quiet, as he does as he silently does as he's told, wincing as he feels the amount of _damage_ done to the Scientist...

Verde's laptop gives a soft _ping_ of something being deleted and something else being loaded in its place, as there is otherwise silence in the lab...

* * *

 

Skull sits up in bed, having sensed a presence in his room.

"...You're the one who hurt Verde," Skull says.

A chuckle.

"From one [immortal] being to another; forgetting is the best strategy."

"What do you mean?"

There's a pause, before;

"Do you know my daughter's pregnant? In a few years, that link may be discovered; someone will need to take care of them."

"You have a daughter?"

"..."

"..."

"...Nana, she recently married a high-standing Advisor Head and lives in Japan."

There is silence, before Skull tilts his head.

"Are you sure you want me to know that?"

"This child will have the best of two different lines at a cost of their own. Just curious how you will proceed now."

"...How long until they're born?"

"They're due three months after you leave here. Knowing our lines, they may come about two months earlier."

A nod, before the rustle of sheets and sound of a door being softly clicked closed, as silence falls in the room...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did end up reading parts of The Oath's summary for this, hehe TTwTT"
> 
> (Kawahira decided to drop in by himself. Suddenly I have a lot of ideas for this when I should be working on other stuff, LOL! XD)


	5. Verde is Not Used to This

Verde is sitting with Luce, the pair working in silence as Luce is filling out Giglio Nero papers and Verde is taking a break, a new Rubik's cube in his hands as he's leaning back in his seat, one leg crossed over the other.

"Going out for a bit, I'll be back!" Skull calls.

Verde's head snaps up, as he quickly races out of the living room, as Checkerface appears between Skull and the door.

"I need to buy something and I can't ask Wonomichi for it, so I need to go myself," Skull states.

"What?" Checkerface asks.

Skull glances at Verde.

"Monthly things, as well as to get to the hideout I have for this _exact reason_ so I don't accidentally blow things up," Skull whines, "I can't deal with this right now!"

Checkerface pauses, leaning on the door, arms crossed, as he tilts his head.

"Didn't I leave some with Lal?"

" _NOT THE TYPE I NEED_!" Skull explodes, Cloud flames flying up as Verde has to avoid the things on the reception hall's table hitting him, the vase that had been there shattering.

Checkerface looks at Verde, then at Skull.

"I'll take you to buy some, whilst Verde makes part of the basement able to hold you for however long you're doing this."

Skull huffs, crossing his arms.

" _I have all I need at that hideout..._ " he grumbles.

Verde heads towards as he hears Checkerface yelp in pain, looking back to see Skull's taken his helmet off and is _thoroughly scolding_ the person who _had Verde out cold until Reborn helped him_.

"...Nope," Verde mutters, as he quickly hurries to his ~~hidey-hole~~ lab...

* * *

 

When they get back, Checkerface looks oddly humbled, as Skull has their helmet back on, exuding an air of confident glee.

"I built the thing you wanted, if it isn't enough, just tell me," Verde states.

"Verde! There you are!" Skull is suddenly in front of the scientist, flames boosting Skull's speed and strength, as proven when Verde can feel the muscles in his shoulders being crushed.

"O-Ow..." Verde says, a shocked grin on his face with slight terror in his eyes.

"Ah! S-sorry, senpai!" Skull stammers, removing their helmet, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"It's fine..." Verde mumbles, "I take it this is what happens with these sorts of situations?"

"Yup! Though I managed to encourage Checkers to buy us all ice cream, as a present to say sorry for hurting you and destroying your favourite toy!" Skull grins.

Verde's grin turns genuine.

"Oh? What flavour?"

"We ended up getting a selection, old Grandpas should do this kind of stuff when they're bad, right?" Skull hums, grinning as he tilts his head at the man.

"Y-yes..." Checkerface grumbles, entering the kitchen, where Lal and Colonnello had been chatting with Reborn over some beer.

At the sight of Checkerface, a smiley, suited, mysterious man, carrying plastic backs holding _ice cream_ , Reborn had pushed his beer away and headed to the living room, Lal had stopped mid-sip and stared, whilst Colonnello had downed the rest of his beer.

"...Checkerface got us ice cream at Skull's request," Verde says.

"Reborn? Where's the bottle! I'm not drunk enough!" Colonnello calls; Verde was out of his lab, _and smiling_ , what had the world come to?!...

* * *

 

Later, Verde returns to his lab from his own room, having had a shower, correcting the cuff on one of his sleeves as he descends the steps.

He looks up.

Then promptly stops in his tracks at the sight of Checkerface waiting, sitting on Verde's couch with a flute of champagne.

"Tell me, how often is Skull like that?"

Verde glances at Keiman, raising a brow when he recognises the signs of a drunk alligator.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine after a nap."

"I hold him to account for trusting you in the first place."

An upset whine is the reptile's reply, as Verde sits in the armchair he used to sleep in, Keiman crawling up into his lap for a belly rub.

Verde complies, thinking.

"Skull turned full brat on you, didn't he?"

Checkerface nods.

"It was... A surprise."

"That was one of Skull's masks. He uses that whenever he knows more than the rest of us." Verde says, "It's why I want him to get rid of his masks, already; they can get annoying. You're just lucky enough to have lasted this long without a full confrontation..."

They're silent, as Verde looks over to the room he'd transferred the toilet from his lab into; the reason he had been forced to use the one in his own room.

"I used all my anti-flame tech on that thing," Verde grumbles, before a smirk crosses his face, "But Skull's yamato nadeshiko act is probably the one that annoys me most; he dresses up in a kimono and acts all refined and alluring and stuff, it works on all of us, though I can tell... It's not what he wants. I mean, his normal self doesn't like the idea of playing hard-to-get, or having to play at being weak to strengthen others... Even if it means that then we all get aggravated enough to get protective."

"So, instead of all of you becoming Luce's Sky and you becoming Luce's, it's more... Skull has become yours, and you have become His?" Checkerface hums, "I see..."

A chuckle passes Checkerface's lips, as he straightens.

"Well then; I take back what I said earlier. You can try and remove his masks. _But..._ If you don't succeed in, say, four or five years, Skull will become one of Mine, alright?"

Checkerface holds out a hand, as Verde is reminded of the picture-bibles he'd be read as a small brat, about devils and the day of the damned.

Frowning, Verde makes a fist with the hand that been petting Keiman.

"Why? You already have Luce, and you'll be making us part of your web, anyway, what could you possibly get from this?"

Checkerface s silent, before tilting his head, swigging back the rest of his champagne.

"I have already told Skull,, so this files under Client Confidentiality, but I have a daughter, who will soon have a child of her own... My species has not awakened in her blood, but I will need someone there for that child if it does in them. Skull has already agreed to that idea. It depends on you and the others, however, as to whether I will make him disappear if such a time should come."

"That is why you said four or five years? Because that would be the time of the child showing their power?"

Checkerface gives a chuckle.

For once, it is not menacing, or filled with the mysterious power that hides behind the man's humanoid form, but old, weary.

"Immortality is a disease, a recessive one, but a disease nonetheless; I will not lose a possible light to that darkness, especially if what I hope won't happen _does_ happen..."

Checkerface shrugs.

"I'll let you think on this."

A swirl of mist flames, and Checkerface is gone, as Verde finds Keiman had fallen asleep in his lap.

"Hn."

Verde carries his companion to the part of his lab specially-installed for the water-loving reptile...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It appears this will be crossing over with a fic I have yet to publish.  
> Of course, I am now plotting over this, with a certain quota.  
> But I shall post this new fic when relevant.
> 
> Have fun, mes chers! ;p The show has only just begun!


End file.
